


Examining the borders- when white and black turn into grey

by Subaruchan192



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Assassination, Assassination Attempt(s), Best Friends, C-Sec, Citadell, Crime Fighting, Crimes & Criminals, Education, Exams, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Investigations, Mindoir, Revenge, Rookie Year, Slave Trade, Slow Burn, Space Battles, Training, colonial backstory, goyle - Freeform, shepards is a trainee of the c-sec
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2019-10-17 15:10:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17562836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subaruchan192/pseuds/Subaruchan192
Summary: Mira Shepard is a trainee of the Citadell Security and wants nothing more than becoming a member of the C-Sec. The only things she needs to do to achieve her dream is to pass the final exam. She has to arrest her frist criminal. Unfourtanetly, Pallin gave her an impossible task. She needs to hunt down the most infamous assassin of the univer: Thane Krios. The chase begins, but it confronts Mira with other problems and conflicts than she had expected.~*~It's a translation of my own story, originally written in German :)





	1. The informant

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody, this is an alternative take of mine on the Shrios romance (still one of the best ones in the videogame world, hands down). I was wondering, how it would be, if both would have met earlier in their life and could even have greater impact on each other. Thane had just lost Irikah and not so long ago, everyone on her home planes Mindoir were murdered by slave traders. Both of them find themselves in their darkest ours. Originally, I started to write this story in German, but now, I am translating it. I hope you enjoy :)

The informant

The Asari was beautiful, Shepard could not deny it. How she sat in front of her with a smug, nearly alluring smile on her full lips made her as attractive as a magnet. It seemed so unreal that a beauty like her had needs for an assassin. Maybe this was the reason why. A former lover, who wanted to hurt her, a wife, who found out about an affair? The trainee of Citadell Security did not care about it. The only thing she cared about was to pass her final exam. It was her dream to pass the final exam and to become a member of C-Sec. Mira would show every man, who laughed about her when she signed into the academy, that they had been wrong. She was as good as men, maybe even better.

Shepard watched the Asari with a stern gaze, while she held her datapad in her hand. Any avocations were not good. Mira has to stay focused on every gesture of the Asari. If she’s not, her task would never be completed.

“I’m asking you once again, Firia M’arona. Why did you engage Thane Krios,” Mira asked and looked at the Asari. The womanly looking Alien was only shrugging her shoulders and made a helpless gesture. The music within the flux - one of the night clubs on Citadell- was damn loud. The beat boomed in her ears and swallowed every word, that wasn’t yelled at each other. Shepard rolled her eyes, leaned forward and said once again, this time louder:

“I know that you’ve engaged Thane Krios. Listen…” Mira sighed and rubbed over her eyebrows. Slowly the Asari started to make her head ache. “I don’t want to foist you for something. I just need information. So, who is Krios going to kill?”

The beautiful Asari looked at her innocently with her big, lavender colored eyes.

“I don’t know, what you’re talking about. I don’t know anybody with the name Thane Krios,” Firia whispered with a soft tone, who would normally leave no doubt behind, but Mira had trust in her sources that had sent her to the Asari. The eyebrows were raised skeptically by Mira and she watched her opponent carefully. Slowly, the desperation within her was increasing. Two months of her final exam has already been gone without any notable results. She had been searching for Thane Krios, the most famous Drell assassin, for two months, but it seemed like her hottest track ran into sand right here. As a trainee the possibilities were limited. Mira was not allowed to arrest or to interrogate somebody. So, she had no other choice than hoping of Firia’s cooperation.

Annoyed, Shepard was falling back into her chair and crossed her legs. The Asari smiled still like the adorableness in person. Her blue, perfect skin glommed in the most fascinating facet of blue within the light of the Flux. Eyes full of depth were looking amused and interested at the same time at Shepard. The young recruit felt more and more unpleasant with every minute that passed. She hated noise and she especially hated discos, but they’re the best place to meet someone without being remembered.

Shepard sighed, stroked a hazelnut colored strand of hair behind her ear, leaned as close as possible towards Firia. Her head was bedded on her folded hands. She watched the beautiful Asari and smiled with her most charming smile, which was possible in the situation.

“Listen, Firia, I don’t want anything from you,” she said with a forgiving tone in her voice, while Mira raised her hands placatory. Mira also showed her hips, where was no weapon holster. She hoped to underline her god willing with this gesture. The Asari nodded understanding and smiled charming.

“You have to tell me something, Shepard,” the Asari purred. “What would a rookie from C-Sec possibly want from the maybe most infamous assassin in the entire galaxy?” Lavender colored eyes sparkled with curiosity. The Asari watched Mira and didn’t let her go with her view.

“Final exam…,” Shepard Murmured simply. She fixed Firia with a critical view, but her opponent did not even react and stayed with her smile on her lips just like it was grown there.

“So…” She answered surprised, while Shepard could not make out, if it was the truth or a lie.

“Such criminals are your aim for final exam? Even if the best spies of C-Sec have not been able to catch him? You have my pity, Shepard.” Mira lowered her eyebrows and leaned back with crossed arms.  There had been a suspicion within her mind that the Asari was playing a false game and she had evidence now, but it would not help her. Anger and frustration accumulated in her breast and she curled her lips.

“Right from the point you don’t know someone with the name Krios, you’re really well informed about the one I’m looking for.” Mira asserted soberly that her game was a lie. The Asari widened her eyes playfully like a young child, which had been caught out in the act. Shepard was not touched of it and watched her informant still seriously.

“Oops, seems like I tattled.”

“Seems like it.” The Asari smiled- once again- and made Mira to see red. Her fingers clawed within the arm-rest of her chair until they turned into white, but Mira kept the illusion of being calm. Just her voice was a bit icier than she wanted her to be.

“Well…Shepard, now that you got me, I should help you. I did not engage Krios, but I know somebody who did it. Maybe this will help you.” The Asari turned around so that she was able to look at the barkeeper. The Barkeeper, a tall Turian, looked up- like because of an invisible wink from Firia- and stopped to polish the glasses. A smile was on his face -like serving drinks is the best thing in the universe-, when he took out two bottles, swirled them around and put the drinks within two glasses. Slowly, he walked towards them and put the glasses on their table.

Firia smiled her most wonderful smile towards the Turian, which was returned in the same way by the barkeeper. When he left them, Firia pushed the glass towards Shepard.

Mira raised an eyebrow and watched the drink carefully. She already suspected, that it wasn’t simple water. For sure, it was one of the strongest alcoholic drinks in the entire Flux. The solid itself was bright blue like the skin of Firia and it was dancing in the rhythm of the beat.

Mira asked herself, if there was more behind this nice gesture. One of the first lectures of Citadell Security was to be always skeptical on given drinks. Poison attacks were not rare on Citadell, but Mira also knew that having a drink together with an informant could be useful. Thoughtfully, Mira assessed all aspects, but could not find a definite answer to the question.

Just like Firia had noticed her inner conflict, she took her glass and smiled encouraging to her and dumped her drink with one single swallow. For a part of a second Firia grimaced, because of the bitter taste of the drink and then watched Mira challenging. Carefully Mira lifted her glass right in front of her eyes, watched it for some moments, weighted it in her hand from one side to another, but then shrugged her shoulders and emptied it within one swallow.

After she had shivered from the bitter after taste, she realized that something was wrong. Every inch of her skin, which got in connection with the alcohol, seemed to burn like the fires in hell, while a crampy cough took her breath away. In the bright blue eyes of the human female burned tears and she felt more than sick. Cold sweat flows down her back and it seemed like her gastric juice was cooking.

The flickering light in the room of Flux became blurred in front of her eyes and Mira felt how her lids became heavier and a strong pain rushed through her body like a flash. With a silent scream she slumped onto the table.

Firia M’arona leaned back with a content smile and crossed her legs. The Turian barkeeper, who had watched the entire scenery, came back to the beautiful Asari and bent down to her.

“Was everything for your satisfaction, Madame,” he whispered with a complacent smile.

“Absolutely,” Fria answered in a calm tone and touched Shepard with a thoughtful smile. “But she isn’t dead, isn’t she? I don’t want to have more blood on my hands.”

“Of course not. She just passed out for a few hours.” The Turian assured her immediately. The Asari smiled and laid a hand on his arm and smiled thankful.

“Good job. I thank you for the help.”

“Any time.”

“May I ask you to take care that nobody is going to notice from this happening? That will damage my fame.”

“It would be my pleasure.” The barkeeper turned around to the door of the night club and nodded towards a Krogan, who was waiting in the dark. Obviously, this turning of the story had been planned right from the beginning, because the massive warrior came fast, threw Mira over his shoulders and carried her out of the dance floor.

“I’m sorry, Rookie Shepard, but I cannot allow you to disturb my commission.” She aspirated, while she watched how the Krogan brought Mira away. Probably the Krogan was going to sell her to batarian slave traders. Nobody in the Flux noticed that a recruit of C-Sec had been abducted right in their middle. Neither the busy Salarians nor the dancing Asaris or the loud chatting humans would even remember that Mira or Firia had been there. But that was normal in the Universe.

This was normal in the new, mixed society out of different culture and races. It was a dark, cold place in which just the own survival mattered. Corruption, black mail and hypocrisy were just small bagatelle with witch the Citadell Security has to deal with. Everything was like a Black Hole in which every memory of a person was being absorbed just like she never existed. This was one of the reasons, why slave traders had an easy job within the different stellar system of the galaxy. Really nobody remembered somebody else.

~ So Mira would never know that she had been close. Just half an hour- and two drink for Firia- later, a shadow detached out of the masse of organic livings. A Drell with bilious green skin and big, but at the same time empty, eyes, sat down noiseless in the chair, where Mira had sat just a few minutes ago. That he was still warm was irrelevant for Thane Krios. What counted for him was his duty. Firia smiled at the murderer of her lover and leaned her head on her hands. Thane really did not react in any way. Nobody in Flux noticed the appearance of the assassin, tough most of them likely did not know, who he was.

“Good that you have found time, Krios. I’m really…” Firia started, but was interrupted by the Drell, who was carrying a black leather coat.

“Please, just tell me, who my target is.”

“Oh…ehm…well…” Firia spluttered and was brought out of concept because of Thanes disinterest, but then ignored it. Such indifference may come from all those years within this job. “Well…of course. Your target is my lover. He threatened me with telling my husband, that I have an affair with…”

“I’m not interested in details.” Krios objected with a monotone, rough voice, which seemed to come out of another sphere. His black eyes fixed Firia cold and for a short moment it seemed like they judged over the Asari before they turned back into the emptiness of an assassin life. “Just tell me. where I can find him. The rest I’ll do by myself.”

Firia had to admit, that the infamous Thane Krios was totally different from what she expected. When she had heard the rumors what Thane Krios had done, she supposed him to be an artful, crafty person, who loved to assassinate his victims out of the dark, but the Thane right in front of her, seemed more to be caught into blasphemy monotony. Maybe this was the reason, which made the difference and causes his care and his distinguished statistic. Until now, not even one victim had survived and there were none eye witness so that just rumors of his actions existed. It seemed like Thane did not really exist. It was like Thane appeared from a dust, when a job had to be done and went away right afterwards. The Asari shook her head fast. Her job had to be done fast, before her lover would tell her husband about her affair.

“He’s in the industry district. He wants to meet there with my husband.” She disclaimed. Thane nodded and closed his eyes. Firia turned around to the barkeeper to order another round of drinks, but when she turned back, Thane Krios had been gone already. Nothing remained from him. Just like Thane never existed.~


	2. Slave Traders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mira Shepard has to face slave traders and gets unexpected help.

  1. Chapter Slave traders



Mira did not know how long she had been floating in the endless darkness that had caused the poison, but now her senses were slowly returning. It was still pounding unbearably behind her temple, but slowly her thoughts were flowing again. What happened? Carefully, she stretched out her thoughts to the recent events, desperately trying to remember what had happened, but as soon as her thoughts got there, it was like she was hitting a barrier. Instead, the headache just got worse. Damn it! What had this bitch of an Asari given her?

Instinctively, Mira Shepard wanted to grab her head, but something was preventing it. Irritated, the young woman jerked her arms and there it was again. Something cut rudely into her wrists and she let out a throaty growl. Bastards! They truly tied her up.

Mira blinked tried to chase away the haziness, which made every contour flickering. It took a few moments, but then the recruit realized she was in a simple storeroom. In the two corners were just a few stacks of empty boxes as far as she could judge from her position. Again, she jerked against her chains in the hope that they would break loose, but when she failed, she grumbled in frustration.

“Stop that, human!”, growled a deep voice in her neck, full of despise. Mira Shepard spun around and hissed as the rough rope cut into her skin. A simple rope in the highly technical 22nd century. How ironic.

Her eyes narrowed and then she finally recognized the origin of that disgusted voice. In the far corner stood a powerful Krogan. Not that Krogans ever looked slender, but he was huge even for his specie. With wide eyes, Mira looked at the alien, who was grumbling in front of her. With a mocking smile, he looked down at the woman's slender body. “If you're good, I do not have to break your bones.”

“Shut up and let me go, otherwise you'll regret it!”, Shepard barked and fixed the Krogan with a hard gaze. He growled warningly and then grimaced in a mocking grin.

“You’re forgetting something, _human_...you’re tied to the chair." Unfortunately, he was not wrong. Mira didn’t have the best starting position. Unobtrusively, Shepard peered around to find something she could use to her advantage. Unfortunately, after a few moments she had to admit that the Krogan had done a good job. At first glance, she did not recognize anything that could help her escape. Damn it!

“What are you planning to do with me, you bastard?”, she growled contemptuously. Shepard hated being cornered, and most of all, she hated feeling helpless. Both emotions combined in her body and made her aggressive, like a hungry wolf threatened by a bigger predator. How wonderfully this comparison fit, she thought sarcastically and fixed the Krogan in front of her again.

He had pulled his big mouth into a grin and Shepard noticed him looking up and down on her.

"Oh, the Batarians will be pleased with my catch.”, he said more to himself than to Shepard as he walked around her. Mira, on the other hand, growled again, following each of his steps as far as she could. Her heart began to race and the situation was not appealing to her, but she fought against her desperation, because only with calmness she could be able to find a way out and she knew it.

“Oh man, I never thought that I would end up as a slave victim. Rather as a dead body somewhere in the farthest corner of space, because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that…” Mira sighed theatrically, but she only tried to distract the Colossus of a warrior in front of her. Secretly, the recruit hoped to take advantage of that. Her captivator was irritated for a moment, but could not resist a short, throaty laugh.

Moments later, he stood in front of her again, putting his hands on his hips and staring at Mira.

“What?”

“A rich Batarian will surely pay a lot for his personal human. Especially for such an unruly one.” Then suddenly the whole range of the situation fell like scales from the eyes. Naturally! Batarians hated humans since the war, when humans began to populate space and been assigned an area that had originally belonged to them. An icy chill ran down her spine as she realized what a wealthy Batarian was saying to a human slave. As a scapegoat! No, it could not end like that. Her brain was working at full speed. There had to be a way out.

“Now you've got it.”, the Krogan grinned and slammed his fists against each other. A gesture that this alien race liked to do when it was satisfied. “You'll bring me a lot of money.”

Shepard narrowed her eyes to slits and deep furrows ran through her forehead. Just as she was about to tell him off, the only door in that small room opened and a group of four armed Batarians entered the room.

Irritated by the chosen hiding place, they paused briefly in the doorway and looked around, but then the look of the leader, at least Mira expected him to be, fell on her and he nudged his comrades, mumbled something and then went to the Krogan. He nodded in greeting and disappeared behind Shepard's back to untie her. Mira took a deep breath and tensed her muscles. That was her chance! Now she had to use the knowledge she had gained in training and simulations. It was her chance to prove herself.

Moments later, the human woman was relieved to feel the pressure on her wrists fade. However, before she could use her hands, the Krogan had painfully grabbed her by the wrists. She narrowed her eyes briefly, then took a deep breath. With his strength, the Krogan forced her forward, his pistol pointed warningly at the back of her neck. Mira growled angrily.

The Krogan stopped right in front of the Batarians. He looked at his clients seriously, his little eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Hereby I give you your goods.”

“Not in this life, Krogan.”, Shepard barked. Now, it was about take a deep breath and get to it! Mira whirled around and a strong, well-placed kick immediately crashed into the Krogan’s chin. Groaning, the warrior stumbled back several meters. Mira did not pay attention. Immediately after the Krogan had dropped her hands, she jumped behind a stack of boxes. Just in the last instant, when Mira landed behind her cover, she heard the clack of pistols unlocked and the sound of the projectiles firing burned like a fire in her ears.

But she was not allowed to worry about that now, so she forced down the memories of her past that came out of her subconscious mind. The sight of the Batarian slave traders made her remember her childhood on Mindoir, the human colony, which had been destroyed Batarians and her beloved ones had been murdered in front of her eyes. That was why she had to escape. She had not been able to escape back then just to be caught, now.

Mira ran her hand over her left arm, activating her omnitool and ignoring how the Batarians were changing their cover. It calmed her when she saw the familiar orange glow, and she quickly gave the appropriate commands to activate her tech armour. The recruit let her hand wander over her body and a heavy armour, shining in that familiar colour, settled around her body. Taking a deep breath, the human woman gathered her strength and concentration and peered around the corner. The Batarians had already overcome some of the distance to their hiding place and Mira was aware that an escape would be difficult - especially without a weapon.

Her eyes slid to the dazed Kroganer and not far from him was a M4 Loctus. Perfect! Even if such a light weapon was unusual for a Krogan, it was exactly the type of weapon she could handle best.

Without thinking, Mira Shepard stormed out of her hiding spot, heading straight for the weapon, confident she was fast enough and her armour strong enough. One of the four Batarians stormed toward her, but Mira wouldn’t be caught that easily. She dropped to the floor and slid the last few meters to the Kroganer across the floor. With lightning speed, she grabbed the Loctus and threw the Batarian, who had attacked her, to the floor with a powerful warp.

The slave trader made an irritated sound as he flew through the air and crashed into the nearest wall. Shepard did not even know that he was unconscious, because she was already holed up behind another stack of boxes.

The Batarians shouted orders, but Mira Shepard ignored them. Panting, she pressed herself against the sturdy boxes and gasped for breath. The adrenaline rushed through her body and t her ears. For a few moments she had the feeling that her heart would pop out as hard as it hammered against her chest. She closed her blue eyes to calm down.

The reality was a lot harder than the simulations. It was about her life, and even if the C-Sec training programs were considered the best, her attackers were still organic creatures before them, some of them reacting differently than a computer program calculated. And above all: a computer program could restart if you died. No! She was not allowed to get nervous. Shepard forced herself to calm down. With the M4 Loctus ready to fire, Shepard slipped to the edge of her hiding place and peered around. A Batarian stood just two feet from her and looked straight at her from his four eyes. A satisfied grin rested on his face. Now his pretty prisoner was trapped.

But instead of becoming reality, Mira Shepard grinned at him.

“I'm sorry, but you're in my way.” With that she fired her pistol before the Batarian could even think. However, she did not want to kill anyone, so she just made sure he could not move that fast anymore. It took a few moments for him to realize he had been hit in the leg, but when his leg suddenly slumped away, he moaned in agony. Mira sighed and realized too late that the Krogan regained conciousness. The colossus grunted annoyed and then got up. Mira did not notice the threat next to her, because she was too focused on the last two Batarians.

Completely unexpected, a piercing pain ran through her side and she flew against the next wall, now. Shepard screamed in pain and her face seemed to explode in a sea of flames. A tormented groan escaped her as she slumped against the wall. The last thing she saw, before her eyes went black, was the Krogan confidently clenching his fists and walking towards her. Then Mira sank into the depths of unconsciousness.

~*~

The Krogan and especially the Batarians were glad that they had finally brought this stubborn woman back under control. For a moment, they had thought the business would burst. No one of those present had suspected that she would have been such a capable fighter. In the end, however, her imprudence had become her doom. The slavers growled contentedly. In itself it was an advantage for her. If they could keep the woman under control long enough for them to arrive on their home world, their rebelliousness would give them an even bigger prize. None of them suspected that their demise was already sitting on the facade of another building, watching them.

Thane Krios was sitting on the façade of a building opposite, watching the action of the warehouse since one of the Batarians had almost landed at his feet. Actually, he had wanted to ignore it, after all, brawling was nothing unusual on the Citadell, but something deep inside of him stopped the Drell. Now, he had been sitting on the ledge for some time in that cold night, watching Mira Shepard's struggle for survival. Thane had to admit that this earth woman was not bad. Even though she made some rookie mistakes - forgetting the Krogan for example - the assassin could not deny that the woman had great potential and most of all, he could see the courage and determination in her eyes. Almost like Irikah...

Maybe that was why Thane could not leave, though that had been his plan. When he saw a woman confronting four Batarians and a Krogan, determined to defend her life, something seemed to be moved in him. Slowly, he slid down from the facade and moved silently through the crowd. Contrary to all his instincts, he had decided to help the unknown woman, because the aliens were just about to abduct her. For this stranger, he was willing to blame himself for five murders, because he would commit these deliberately and not as a weapon of his clients, which was used by his clients. Thane deliberately decided to kill these creatures and thus bore the responsibility. That was the mentality of the Drell.

Finally, Krios reached the door and entered without being noticed by anyone present. His M12 Locust was within his hand. The three uninjured Batarians scurried through the storeroom, collecting scattered data pads as the Kroganer was about to lift the woman up. When one of the Batarians got up and turned to see Thane, his death was already sealed. Thane stood next to him faster than he could blink, held the barrel of his gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The Batarian opened his eyes in horror and sank to the floor as his eyes twisted to the back of his head.

Alarmed by his comrade's agonizing death-cry, another Batarians spun around, but before he knew it, he had a bullet in his head. Thane slid silently along the wall, stepping behind the penultimate Batarian, who was too busy with a data pad to notice the death of his companions. Before he even realized that someone was behind him, the Drell had already broken his neck. Gurgling, he sank to the ground, where he remained lifeless.

Thane looked around. The beefy Krogan squatted in front of the unconscious Mira and seemed to check that he had not accidentally killed her. He grumbled and growled something about _weak humans_. Thane looked around. Originally, there had been four Batarians. Irritated, Thane took a step back to get an overview. Then, he heard a hiss to his right. Immediately, the Drell pointed his weapon and saw the last Batarian writhing on the floor in pain. He had desperately grabbed his leg and fumbled with the hole in his armour, almost as if trying to get a projectile out of his shin. Obviously, the woman had landed a decent goal. Legs were really hard to hit. Thane knew from his lengthy experience. Although he always killed his victims as quickly and painlessly as possible, so many times had no choice but to use such possibilities.

“Bloody hell!”, the Batarian cursed and said something incomprehensible in his mother tongue. Thane suspected more curses, and it was good that he didn’t understand them.

Slowly, fluently, like a calm wave, the assassin slid to the agonizing alien and bowed over him. Feeling the cold run of the Loctus on his temple, the Batarian looked up, his four eyelash-less eyes looking horrified at the Drell. His mouth opened to make a horrified sound, but before it even came out, Thane shot him in the head as he whispered softly:

“Sleep peacefully.”

The blood squirted like a small red stream on the ground, then this slave trader was gone from the world.

Quietly, Thane got up and closed his eyes to pray for the four murdered slavers, after assuring himself that the Krogan had not noticed him yet. Thane did so for every victim- whether commissioned or not. May their souls be forgiven.

After completing his silent prayer to the goddess Arashu, he took a deep breath and walked over to the Krogan, blending perfectly with the shadows. Just as the assassin was about to to use a weakness in the armour of the Krogan, he grunted this angry. Faster than Thane was used to by Krogans, the massive warrior whirled around and his mighty arm darted down to a sinister blow.

Although the Drell had very sharp senses and his subconscious instinctively guided him in fight, Thane managed to dodge the blow only at the last second. Skilfully, he danced to the side and then remained calm. He had obviously underestimated the two-meter-tall giant. How could he possibly make such a rookie mistake? Now, Thane was in a situation where he seldom found himself. An open fight. At this time, his victims were already dead.

However, the Krogan growled, ready to fight and beat his fists against each other until it resembled the rhythm of old war drums. His eyes watched the enemy closely, waiting for another attack, but Thane Krios didn’t move. Although he had fought few open fights in relation to his attacks, he was not inexperienced. Thane knew that a movement, however small it might be, could be one too many.

But instead of attacking him, the Krogan suddenly broke away from his fighting stance and straightened up. Thane looked at him irritably, but did not allow himself to be carried away by an ill-considered action.

“Did you seriously think I did not notice you, Drell?”, the Krogan growled dismissively, watching him suspiciously. Thane, on the other hand, remained calm. He folded his arms loosely over his chest, his Loctus always ready to fire.

“To be honest: no. Three dying Batarians are hard to miss, and you Krogans smell every fight three kilometres against the wind.” Still, the assassin remained completely calm, even though he is inferior in experience to the mercenary. Thoughtfully, he watched the Krogan and waited to see what would happen.

“At least one, who understands our specie. If you excuse me now, Drell, I still have to deliver this human.” The Krogan was about to turn around, when there was a clacking sound as Thane released his weapon. Slowly, the mercenary turned his head and glared at the assassin.

“You’d best not do that! I have something against slave traders. So, leave the woman alone, alright?” An icy tone swung in the voice of Thane Krios, when he warned the Krogan. Normally, any normal living thing would have fled immediately, even if they did not know Krios, because in this moment, he was surrounded by an ominous aura that awakened the innate instinct to escape. His serene, calm composure only enhanced that powerful aura in the air. Anyone else would have been intimidated, but not a Krogan. They loved the fight and did not shy away from confrontation.

However, the Krogan snorted contemptuously and suddenly stormed towards the Drell. Thane took a few steps back, preventing him from being knocked down by the weight of the alien. A few millimetres from Thane, the mercenary stopped and pointed warningly at the assassin.

“Keep your breath to cool your porridge.”, the Krogan warned menacingly, raising his fist threateningly. The Drell, however, was not impressed and approached the kidnapper, his gun calmly aimed at the throat. The Krogan looked sceptically at him, but did not move.

“I'll just say it again! Leave her alone or I'll make sure you cannot do any harm.” Thane had not really expected his threat to do anything, and he was right. Instead, the Krogan laughed and stormed toward him. The ground vibrated under the weight of the mercenary and the walls echoed the sound. The assassin, however, stopped quietly, remained completely motionless and waited for his chance. Closer and closer came the colossus of an alien and wanted to hit the assassin once again with his weight or a strong blow, but he had underestimated Thane. At the last moment, the Drell threw himself aside in a smooth motion so that the Krogan ran past him. He grunted irritated, but could not slowdown in time and ran against the wall.

A loud bang went through the room and thundered in Thane's ear canal, but he shook off the numbing effect, because he didn’t want to miss this opportunity and therefore attract Ammon Kira's anger. He should finish it quickly and with as little suffering as possible.

In less than a blink of an eye, the Drell was beside his opponent, cleverly ducking away under a warding blow, so that he was now directly below him. The Krogan tilted his short neck, looked down at him in surprise, but it was already too late.

Thane Krios pulled the trigger of his light weapon and felt the familiar recoil that followed the bullet of his pistol. Like a flash of lightning, the projectile shot out of the barrel and plunged into the soft flesh of the Krogan’s jaw. There was a cracking sound as the bone broke and the Krogan groaned in horror. A spit of blood gushed from the big mouth. The eyes, which had previously shone with mistrust and self-confidence, twisted agonizingly as the massive body trembled. Slowly, life disappeared from the body of the Krogan, Thane could literally feel how it was leaving him.

“You... gonna...regre...", the colossus gurgled, but he was no longer able to finish his sentence. His tongue had also been pierced by the bullet. Moments later, the Krogan collapsed, lying motionless on the cold floor.

“May Ammon Kira forgive you...”, Thane whispered in his calm voice, folding the Krogans hands into a final, silent prayer. He, too, closed his eyes and prayed to his Gods, asking for the forgiveness of his sins.

He still didn’t know why exactly he had done that, why he was loaded the guilt of five murders onto him for a woman he didn’t even know, but his subconscious had driven him to it. That was why he had to take care of it later. Now he was worried. Thane hadn’t been able to see exactly what had happened to the human woman. He had only seen, how she was suddenly thrown out of his field of vision. The uncertainty of whether she was alive or whether the Krogan’s blow had killed her clouded Thane of his otherwise clear thoughts.

Immediately after completing his prayer to the Mistress of the Hunters, he crouched down to the motionless body of the brown-haired woman. Carefully, he put his slender fingers to her neck and closed his eyes to listen. For a few moments, the Drell remained motionless, waiting, hoping. A few moments later he felt a pulse under his fingertips. Relieved, Thane exhaled and for a brief moment and even allowed himself a small smile. He had not done these things for nothing. He had spared this young woman a lifetime of suffering. This certainty gave his mind at least some peace. As a precaution, he also held his palm under her nose and immediately felt the tickling breath of hers. She lived! Now he was sure.

Briefly, he looked at the young woman and stroked a strand of hair behind her ear, but then decided that it was time to call the C-Sec, who would take care of everything else. By the time the security guards showed up, he would have disappeared a long time ago.

//Take care. I hope your life is going to be better than the one behind you. Farewell. //, he said silently to the rescued woman, before he left the warehouse. Outside, Thane leaned against the wall, closed his eyes and took a deep breath to recover. A cool wind touched his heated skin. Thane was at his limits. This night had been exhausting for him, though he had had many difficult missions. His target had been very well guarded, better than most of his victims, and the precautions had demanded everything from him and his body, and that was now taking its toll.

Suddenly, without any warning, a strong cough seized control of his body and no one noticed. Nobody saw the body of the Drell coiling under the cough, but Thane already knew it. He just had to wait and then the cough ended on his own. These attacks always came, when he had worked too hard. It was a burden he carried with him that would kill him one day, but that was his fate.

Even when the coughing had subsided, his body was still trembling and the Drell needed all his willpower to bring it back under control. The human woman was not safe yet. First, he had to make sure, otherwise his murders would have been in vain.

Thane opened his big, black eyes again and activated his universal tool. He hesitated a few moments, but then realized that this was the only way. It didn’t take long for him to send the location anonymously to Citadell Security. They would take care of everything, but by the time they arrive, he'll be on his way to Illium for his next assignment. Thane was already making his way to the terminals when he paused. Slowly he turned his head to the warehouse, whose door was still open and a dead Batarian was lying on the threshold.

Inwardly, the Drell fought with himself, actually he had to disappear from here as quickly as possible, an encounter with the C-Sec could be quite uncomfortable, but he couldn’t leave the young woman behind helplessly. Even on the Citadell, five bodies and an unconscious woman would be noticed sooner or later. Resigned, the Drell shook his head and went back, stowing the body in the warehouse and closing the door with his universal tool. His hand still rested some long-lasting moments on the cold palladium door. Why did he care? Why was it important to him? Normally, he was always calm and one with himself. Why was he so upset now? But he could not think about it for long, because he heard the sirens of Citadell Security emergency vehicles in the distance. He had to leave on the spot. One last time, he looked at the door, wished the woman good luck, and then disappeared like a shadow in the slowly dimming night. How could Thane have guessed that he had helped the woman, who would turn his life completely upside down?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)


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